Sleek speedsters on display in L.A.

Practically everyone has played with the science of aerodynamics, even if they didn't know it. Have you ever stuck your hand out of a moving car, moved it up and down, and noticed the difference in how hard the wind blows against it?

The first American car designed with aerodynamics in mind was this 1928 Martin Aerodynamic, which boasted covered rear wheels, recessed door handles, disk wheels and a curved body.

Petersen Automotive Museum

The M-Pulse, built in 2001, is the most aerodynamic vehicle on display at the Petersen museum, but it's also the most impractical. The solar-powered vehicle can only hold one person — and that person must be lying down.

Petersen Automotive Museum

Hungarian engineer Paul Jaray, who started his career building zeppelins, designed this 1941 Tatra 87, one of the most aerodynamic vehicles of its time. The car's engine is housed in the back, not the front.

Petersen Automotive Museum

This 1955 Ghia StreamlineX, one of the most radical-looking vehicles on display at the Petersen, took aerodynamics and propulsion to the extreme.

Petersen Automotive Museum

The 1001-horsepower Bugatti Veyron is not just the most expensive car on display at the Petersen, it's also the fastest. It can reach 253 mph.

Petersen Automotive Museum

The Dodge Charger Daytona, with its cone-shaped nose in front and stabilizer wing in back, didn't impress car buyers in 1969.

Petersen Automotive Museum

When the Chrysler Airflow was introduced in 1934, it was sleeker and more aerodynamic than any other car on the road. Car buyers didn't care, though; the Airflow was a commercial disaster.